5-Star Recruit DJ Steward Meets With Duke, Other Notable CBB Programs

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils instructs his team against the North Dakota State Bison in the first half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

As five-star recruit DJ Steward nears closer to his college decision, the talented guard from Illinois is taking visits with the remaining programs on his list.

Steward is currently considering Duke, DePaul, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Louisville, North Carolina and Texas. It’s a strong list for the Whitney Young product.

247Sports has Steward ranked as the No. 25 overall recruit and No. 6 combo guard. All the programs in the hunt for him would love to add a player of his talent.

Over the past five days, Steward has met with Duke, Louisville and Texas. He spent the weekend in Austin for his official visit.

Steward spoke to 247Sports about his visits with each program. Although he did have share positive reviews for each team, the Blue Devils are the favorites to receive his commitment.

The five-star guard revealed that Duke is making a strong push to add him to its 2020 recruiting class.

“It was great, he brought in three other people from their staff just to show how big of a priority I was,” Steward said. “He said I was a big priority for the combo guard position for next year to come in and play alongside Jeremy Roach and Jalen Johnson. He was saying I could come in and score and fill it up right away because he knows Jeremy Roach is a great passer, Jalen Johnson is another great passer and he says I’m very unselfish as well and a great teammate and we would fit together very well.”

Duke has a pair of five-star recruits in Jalen Johnson and Jeremy Roach. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has the No. 6 recruiting class in the country thus far.

Louisville also recently made a strong pitch for Steward’s services.

“It was really good,” he said. “We sat down for about 30 minutes and just talked about their plan for me. I would like to come in and fill it up right away and just score and develop the point guard skills that I’ll need for the next level.”

There’s no timetable for Steward’s decision as he remains in the process of visiting other schools. Nonetheless, the Blue Devils are in the driver’s seat to land another five-star recruit.